Law Enforcement

LAPPL announces contract deal with City of Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) announced today that rank-and-file officers have approved the proposed contract with the City of Los Angeles. More than 2700 LAPD officers voted over four days in favor of the successor agreement. LAPPL President Craig Lally commented on behalf of the League, “We're pleased with the membership's ratification, especially considering the past eight months of uncertainty. The terms of this contract will help boost morale, and we can move forward knowing this is a step toward adequately compensating LAPD officers for their tireless work and dedication to the residents of Los Angeles.”
LAPD.com

LAPD union approves contract with cost-of-living raises
The union representing Los Angeles Police Department officers on Monday night approved a proposed labor agreement with the city that would provide cost-of-living salary increases over the next five years. The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing about 9,900 officers, completed four days of voting tonight, with more than 2,700 officers voting, the union announced.
mynewsLA.com

Upland selects LAPD veteran as new police chief
A 26-year veteran with the Los Angeles Police Department has been named the city's new police chief. Capt. Brian P. Johnson, who is assigned to Los Angeles' Pacific Area, oversees 300 sworn and professional civilian personnel. He will begin April 20, with an annual salary of $160,474 and receive the same benefits as other executive-level managers.
Daily Bulletin

LAPD Chief Testifies In Discrimination Lawsuit Filed By Latino Officers
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck testified Monday in the trial of a discrimination lawsuit filed by two Latino LAPD officers. George Diego and Allan Corrales filed the lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles alleging they were discriminated against because of their race when the Police Commission overturned a finding by Beck that they were justified when they used deadly force and fatally shot an unarmed black man in 2010.
CBS Los Angeles , Los Angeles Times

New LAPD Captain Tries to Win Over Citizens of South L.A
Capt. Jorge Rodriguez stands to address a community meeting in his crisp blue LAPD uniform. Double bars on his shirt collars indicate he is the top-ranking officer here at the Newton Police Station on Central Avenue south of downtown. “Just because I wear the uniform that they all wear, it doesn't mean that I'm in collusion with them or cahoots,” he tells the group. “I'm their boss. I want to hold them accountable."
KQED News

LAPD Officer Accused of Smuggling Man Held on $20K Bond
A Los Angeles police officer accused of trying to smuggle a man into the U.S. in the trunk of his car will be held on a $20,000 bond, a federal judge ordered. Carlos Curiel Quezada Jr., 34, made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in San Diego Monday afternoon.
NBC San Diego

Three released in connection with shooting of two LAPD officers
Three people who were detained after gunmen opened fire on two plainclothes Los Angeles police officers were released Monday afternoon and police officials pledged to continue investigating the shooting. The three people -- who were not identified -- were released at 2:41 p.m., Officer Sara Faden said. The trio were detained amid an intensive search Sunday by dozens of police officers and the LAPD's SWAT unit that covered several blocks near 65th Street and Broadway.
Los Angeles Times

Authorities ID man fatally shot in parked car in South L.A.
Authorities identified a man who was killed in a gang-related shooting as he sat in a parked vehicle in South Los Angeles. The shooting was reported about 11:55 p.m. Friday near 65th Street and Broadway, said Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.Leroy Hill, 46, of Los Angeles died at the scene, said coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter. Hill was sitting in the vehicle when two males approached, and one of them shot him in the upper body, police said. The shooting was believed to be gang-related, Madison said.
mynewsLA.com

2 sought in San Bernardino woman's disappearance
The disappearance of a woman near Cal State San Bernardino last week does not appear to be connected to recent attacks at the school, police said. Sahray Astina Barber, 22, has been missing since March 9, when she was seen leaving for work about 6 a.m. from her apartment across the street from the university. On Sunday, San Bernardino police announced that it was investigating two persons of interest who may be involved in her disappearance.
Los Angeles Times

Police deny claims that officers beat Ferguson shooting suspect
A man accused of shooting and wounding two police officers during a protest outside the Ferguson Police Department last week - while possibly aiming for someone else in a crowd of demonstrators - was arraigned Monday, according to the St. Louis County prosecutor's office. Jeffrey Williams, 20, is charged with two counts of first-degree assault, one count of shooting from a car and three counts of armed criminal action. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
Los Angeles Times

Pensions

California public workers may be at risk of losing promised pensions
As millions of private employees lost their pension benefits in recent years, government workers rested easy, believing that their promised retirements couldn't be touched. Now the safety of a government pension in California may be fading fast. Feeling the heat is the state's huge public pension fund, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, known as CalPERS. The fund spent millions of dollars to defend itself and public employee pensions in the bankruptcy cases of two California cities — only to lose the legal protections that it had spent years building through legislation.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Studies of LA.'s minimum wage increase due this week
Nearly six months after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti proposed raising the minimum wage to $13.25 per hour, city council members are about to get their hands on new research detailing the impact of a wage hike in the city. A study from UC Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education is due to the council this week. Back in January, city staff chose the Berkeley center to conduct this economic analysis, which drew some criticism since the same group had already done a study that largely supported Mayor Garcetti's proposal. Studies from two other economic groups are also expected in the coming days.
KPCC